Chance of a Lifetime
by Jaynee
Summary: We know about Sam and Josie, but have you ever wondered what Guy Perkins was REALLY thinking?
1. Chance of a Lifetime - Part 1

Change of a Lifetime, Part 1  
  
Guy woke up on this morning as he always did these days: cranky and grumpy. Never a morning person, on this particular Monday morning he was suffering from more than his usual I-hate-going-to-school-in-spring blues - he honestly did not look forward to facing the South Glen South denizens today - especially the group of friends he hung out with.   
  
Standing under the hot water streaming from his shower, Guy attempted to revive himself by thinking instead of his future. Two more months and it would be summertime - the summer before he left for college. He had been accepted to all his top choices and was still debating between attending Northwestern, Brown University or UC-Berkeley. His parents had told him it was his choice (they never pushed him about anything), and he was still unsure which school would be home for the next four years.   
  
Guy was smart - although he tried to hide that fact. Who knows why - it was anybody's guess. His friends all knew he did well academically, but they figured that he just got lucky a lot. They never saw him study, never saw him express pleasure at his grades (which were usually good). And he certainly never took part in class - that just wasn't the "cool" thing to do.   
  
Guy turned off the shower and began toweling himself dry, looking in the bathroom mirror as the steam dissipated and brought his reflection to life. He felt he was average looking - nothing disappointing, but not the 'end all be all' of handsome either. Analyzing himself as he brushed his teeth, he knew his best feature was his eyes - their lightness stood out and got him noticed. Other than that he felt he was fairly typical, if not a bit on the scrawny side. He always wished he could work out more and bulk up - he looked like some emaciated slacker musician instead of an athlete, which he had wanted to be as a kid. 6 As Guy got dressed, his dread at going to school returned. For Guy, school was no real challenge and he tended to just float through - waiting to get to the good stuff in college. And by going away to college he could perhaps finally be free to be himself - not what others projected onto him. At seventeen, Guy was Big Man on Campus at South Glen South. Guy couldn't wait to be Small Fish in Big Pond when high school was over and he moved on to the next chapter of his life.   
  
And besides that, maybe he'd finally be able to find friends that didn't put him on a pedestal. All these years, hanging out with Tommy, Gibby, Kirsten and the rest - it was tiring to be constantly watched. Having to pass approval on everything was annoying, and Guy was sick of it. Sometimes he'd say things to his friends just to get a reaction. He was amused and sad at the same time that they were so easily persuaded.   
  
With a sigh, Guy realized that he had moved past his friends, but hadn't actually accomplished separating himself from them. Partially because he hated dissension, he kept his mouth shut when it came down to it. When Tommy said or did something idiotic and rude, rather than chew out Tommy and put him in his place, Guy tended to fake his way through a laugh and change the subject. Guy hated that about himself and knew that he needed to stand up and say something to his friends about their behavior - but he also knew that by standing up he'd probably alienate the gang, which he didn't want to do with only two months left to go before graduation.   
  
* * *   
  
Guy arrived at South Glen South by way of a short walk. He had always lived only six blocks from the school and never bothered with driving his car the short distance unless he was picking up his friends. He knew of several students that drove because it was thought to be nerdy to walk to school, but frankly Guy enjoyed the few minutes of solitude that the walk gave him before spending the next seven hours sitting in mind-numbing classes surrounded by thick-headed students and teachers who didn't care anymore.   
  
His first class was geography with Ms. Knox. She was funny to listen to - always telling stories about her supposed menopausal symptoms. She obviously loved her class subject. She had traveled extensively in her life and made the class more personal that way. Her only downfall was that she required any late students to wear a sombrero for ten minutes during class - and he still had one more thing to do before going to class.   
  
Guy headed over to the school secretary's office and as he pushed open the door he called out, "Good morning, Mrs. Johnson, how are we this morning?"   
  
Mrs. Johnson, the elderly woman who worked as the school secretary, looked up and beamed at Guy. "Well, I'm just fine, and you?" She opened up her drawer and pulled out a late pass and put it on the edge of her desk.   
  
Guy sat in a chair next to her desk and sighed, "Tired, but here." He grinned at her as he put the late pass in his back pocket. "Did you enjoy the rest of your weekend?"   
  
"Why yes, I did, Guy! I managed to finish planting my flowers yesterday afternoon. You were so sweet to put that mulch down for me on Saturday so that I wouldn't hurt my back. When my Frank was here he did all that for me, too. Never let me lift a finger, my Frank."   
  
Guy smiled as Mrs. Johnson spoke of her late husband. The Johnson's and the Perkins' had been neighbors since Guy was four years old - he had mowed their lawn practically for free until he was fourteen years old. Frank Johnson had always paid him a quarter for the job - even when the going rate was up to ten dollars an hour. Guy never had the heart to tell Mr. Johnson that a raise was overdue and always took the quarter with appreciation.   
  
"Well, that's what I'm for now, Mrs. Johnson. Now where are those boxes of files you need moved?" The day before Mrs. Johnson had called over to Guy's house and asked that he come to school early and help her move some boxes. Theoretically the school had workers that should do it, but Mrs. Johnson almost always called Guy for help. Guy was like a grandson to her. Besides, she liked his company - he was nice to her and made her feel appreciated even though she knew she was well past retirement age.   
  
Mrs. Johnson directed him to a stack of boxes in the corner and Guy followed her directions on where they should be placed in the closet in her office. Once done, Guy closed the closet door and turned to go.   
  
"All right, Mrs. Johnson - I'll see you later. If you need anything, just let me know and I'll come and do it for you. I've got to run to class now, though."   
  
Mrs. Johnson came over and patted Guy's cheek, much like his grandmother always did. "Such a sweet boy, you are, Guy. Always so willing to help me - even though I'm just a stuffy old lady who should be retired."   
  
Guy laughed as he walked out the door, responding, "Mrs. Johnson, the day you retire is the day Chicago no longer has sub-zero winters!"   
  
Mrs. Johnson waved goodbye to him as the door slowly closed, and Guy found himself in an empty hallway. Looking at the clock at the end of the hall he saw he was only a few minutes late.   
  
He went up the nearest staircase to the second floor and strolled down to Room 204. As he opened the door he saw a girl standing at the front of the classroom, wearing the dreaded sombrero. He had never seen her before, but as he came into the room she turned and stopped cold during her speech. As he came near Ms. Knox's desk he heard her whisper something that sounded suspiciously like 'Billy'.   
  
He dropped the late pass on Ms. Knox's desk and proceeded to his desk. He sat calmly in his seat before bringing his eyes back up to the front of the room. The girl was staring at him - gawking really. He smiled a bit at her, mentally wishing she'd get on with it and get the attention of himself.   
  
"Bali!" she finally cried. "Billy Bali, a suburb of Bali proper."   
  
As the girl went on to describe her family to the students, Guy finally took notice of her clothes - a dreadful choice of white jeans and some sort of boa that looked kind of straggly at the end - as though it got caught in a door or something. Her makeup left something to be desired - it made her look all washed out, even though Guy could tell she had a creamy complexion that most girls would covet. He could see that she was trying painfully to be cool, which was admirable, however misguided. Unfortunately, the students at South Glen South prided themselves on being the best and coolest in all Chicago. And Guy knew instantly this girl fell short of their lofty ideals.   
  
But even with the bad clothes and worse makeup, Guy still thought she was kind of cute. Her eyes were bright and sparkly, her blond hair was a knockout, and her body was curved in all the right places. Guy heard Ms. Knox refer to her as "Josie" - a cute name, even if it was the name of a cartoon character.   
  
Josie finally fell into her seat with a dejected sigh and he could see her shoulders slump as Kirsten and Kristen giggled behind him. Guy turned and frowned at Kirsten, willing her to shut up. She was constantly doing that - laughing at other people when there was no need. She caught his look and stopped giggling immediately. Guy turned back around to face the front of class and let out a silent sigh.   
  
Two more months, he thought. I don't think I'll make it.   
  
* * *   
  
Lunchtime arrived, and not too soon. Guy grabbed an apple and a bottle of water from the line and after paying for it moved into the main part of the cafeteria. He saw that the new girl, Josie, was sitting across a table from Gibby, Kirsten and Kristen, a pad and pen in hand. They were looking at Josie with open horror and disgust as she spoke to them. He couldn't hear what she was asking, but could tell that she wouldn't get any good answers from the Trio from Hell.   
  
He put his apple and water down on a table used by the football players and made his way over to Josie and the girls.   
  
"Hi, I'm Guy," he said, smiling softly at Josie in an attempt to show her a friendly face amongst the student body.   
  
Josie gazed up at him, obviously flustered. "Yes you are," she breathed. "A guy. Guy. Quite a guy. Oh my." She paused, then laughed nervously, glancing at the girls. "That rhymes! Yikes." She paused, then blurted out, "Bikes!" before cringing in embarrassed laughter.   
  
Guy looked at her for a moment, not sure how to respond. Was there something wrong with her? He didn't think so - she had seemed normal enough in Ms. Knox's class. But she did say that she was from Bali - maybe they all acted like this over there. Maybe that was it - maybe she was supposed to be in a different class altogether.   
  
"Are you in special ed?" he asked, genuinely concerned that she might have been misplaced in South Glen South's regular classes.   
  
Josie looked at him blankly for a moment, prompting him to add stupidly, "No, seriously, are you?"   
  
Gibby snorted loudly and the other two girls burst out laughing as Josie rose to leave, revealing to Guy a large brown stain of chocolate milk on her white jeans. He heard Kirsten gush, "I can't believe he just said that!" Without a word, Josie turned and walked away with her tray of uneaten food. Guy watched her as one of the Denominators approached her. It was Aldys.   
  
Ignoring the halfwit fashion victims chortling behind him, he watched as Aldys and one of her friends spoke to Josie, offering smiles and friendship to her. But after a moment's pause, Josie continued out of the cafeteria, trying to ignore the titters from various tables as she walked by.   
  
As he mentally scolded himself for humiliating Josie with his thoughtless question, Guy saw Aldys turn and give him a nasty look before sitting down at her own table. As if he didn't feel bad enough, now Aldys thought he was a bad guy, as well.   
  
And if there was one thing he regretted most about high school, it was that Aldys thought he was a bad guy.   



	2. Chance of a Lifetime - Part 2

Change of a Lifetime, Part 2:  
  
Guy gave one last withering look to Gibby, Kirsten and Kristen, who were continuing to giggle after Josie's abrupt departure from the cafeteria. He stalked over to the athlete's table and grabbed back his apple and bottled water before the high school quarterback threw them in his backpack as if they were his.   
  
He made his way through the crowd and left the cafeteria, heading to the library. He often went there when he wanted to be alone, knowing that his friends would never think to look for him there. Sitting in a back corner behind a huge stack of books in need of filing, Guy sat on the couch and leaned his head back until it hit the wall with a thud. One quick glance at his watch told him he had about 15 minutes left until he had to be at his next class. And only fifty days until high school was over.   
  
It seemed that lately he was always counting. He was counting down the days until he left high school, and everyday when he saw Aldys he was reminded of why he was so miserable half the time.   
  
Guy sighed and closed his eyes. His thoughts drifted back many years, to when he was only in fourth grade. He had been slightly bucktoothed, painfully shy, smaller in size than his peers, and - even worse - incredibly smart for his age. He didn't have any truly close friends, but he make one that year - a girl in his class who was very much like him in many ways.   
  
* * *   
  
"Hi, I'm Aldys Harrison. What's your name?"   
  
"Guy Perkins. What kind of a stupid name is Aldys?"   
  
"Same kind of stupid name as Guy."   
  
And with that they became best friends. She made Guy laugh and they had a good time after school doing homework and watching television at each other's house. Going into fifth grade the fun had continued, but Guy had also made another friend - an obnoxious boy named Tommy Salome who had recently moved to Chicago. By the time they got to sixth grade, Guy spent more time with Tommy than he did with Aldys.   
  
The summer before they entered junior high, Guy ran into puberty head first. The braces his parents made him wear straightened his teeth, he made new friends through the ever-outgoing Tommy, and he even gained some weight and a couple inches in height. He stopped playing sports because he just wasn't good at it, and took up playing guitar instead. The cutest girls in his class started to flirt with him - although he tended to ignore them.   
  
Guy hardly ever spoke to Aldys anymore - the more he hung out with Tommy, the more Aldys seemed to drift away from him. Tommy frequently made jokes at Aldys' expense, and Guy, who was finally beginning to feel comfortable in his own skin, didn't want to ruin his friendship with Tommy. So he laughed at the jokes. Guy was ashamed of his cowardice, but did nothing to combat it.   
  
By their first year of high school Guy had become the most popular guy in the freshman class. It seemed to happen overnight. One day he was just one of Tommy's crew, and the next it seemed as though people were paying more attention to Guy than Tommy. Whereas Tommy was the same cut-up he had always been, Guy grew into a quiet confidence that people wanted to follow. All the freshman girls wanted to date him, but Guy was aloof with them - waiting for someone else to come along that interested and challenged him.   
  
Meanwhile, Aldys had become tall and willowy, with long blond hair that hung straight down her back. She carried around more books than any student ever needed, and had joined the Denominators as a freshman, which was almost unheard of. That group was mainly filled with juniors and seniors. But that was Aldys - the best at everything she tried. Inwardly, Guy was proud of her, although he never told her as much. Tommy meanwhile, dubbed Aldys with a despicable nickname, Alpo, and did his best to tease her whenever possible.   
  
Guy had tried talking to Aldys a few times once they reached high school, but Aldys was hurt by Guy's lack of friendship over the years and his unwillingness to stand up for the person who at one time was his best friend. And truth be told, Guy didn't blame her one bit.   
  
One day, though, he saw her coming out of Mrs. Johnson's house next door and stopped her before she could ride away on her bike.   
  
"Aldys, how are things going?" he called out as he jogged across his lawn toward her.   
  
"Oh, like you care," she responded scornfully, her eyes flashing at him behind her glasses.   
  
"Look, I'm really sorry." Guy paused... Where had that come from?   
  
"What are you sorry for, Guy?" she challenged as she began wheeling her bike down the driveway to the street. "Do you even know for what you are apologizing?"   
  
Guy followed her, saying in a quiet voice, "Everything, I guess."   
  
"Everything?" She turned on him. "You mean you are sorry that you suck as a best friend? Well...former best friend? You are sorry that you hang out with the worst snobs in school? Sorry that you walk around like you are better than everyone else? Sorry that you laugh at me behind my back, imagining that I can't see it? Sorry that you are such a coward that you can't stand up for what I know you once believed in? Sorry that you aren't the nice boy I once knew and cared about?"   
  
Guy looked at her during her tirade, watching her mouth move as she formed the words that crushed his spirit. He had hoped that they could make amends, but it was obvious that Aldys had no desire to be his friend anymore.   
  
Guy was suddenly very sad, more sad than he had been in the years since his friendship with Aldys had waned. Standing in front of him was a 14-year-old girl with so much passion. She was smart, opinionated, strong, and beautiful. More beautiful than he had ever realized.   
  
Guy suddenly realized why he had felt bad all these years about the way he and Tommy treated her. He still genuinely liked Aldys. But not as a friend, and certainly not as a buddy. When she finished spewing her venom over him, Guy could feel his heart beat in his chest, and felt completely weak.   
  
Even as he could feel her hatred, he knew he wanted Aldys to be his girlfriend.   
  
Before he could stop himself, Guy leaned over and kissed Aldys' lips very softly. Her mouth was surprisingly warm and soft, and as he continued to kiss her he could feel her begin to respond...to kiss him back. When he pulled back a moment later, no one was more shocked than him.   
  
Except possibly Aldys.   
  
They stood for a moment, staring at each other, each wondering what to do next. Guy searched his brain desperately for something witty to say to break the tension, but found nothing.   
  
Aldys finally ended the tense moment, sighing softly as she got onto her bike, but didn't immediately ride away. She kept her head down for a moment, her hair covering her face. Guy brought up one hand to affectionately tuck her hair behind her ear like he did when they were younger, and discovered a single tear trailing sorrowfully down her cheek.   
  
"Aldys --"   
  
"No, Guy," Aldys cried, cutting him off. "Just...no. It's too late. You're too late. You aren't the same person you once were. I don't like who you are now. I don't even want to be around the person you are now. I can't respect who you are now."   
  
With that she began quickly pedaling out of Mrs. Johnson's driveway. Guy couldn't believe what she had said to him. His pride had been shattered, and he was angry. Aldys hadn't really spent anytime with him in almost five years. How dare she presume to know who he was now?   
  
Before she rode too far, his anger completely took hold of him and he yelled after her, "That was out of pity, Alpo! You're a dog and that's probably the only kiss you'll ever get in your whole life!"   
  
Aldys continued riding away, as though she hadn't heard him. But he knew she had. And as soon as the words had left his mouth he wished he could take them back.   
  
* * *   
  
With a sudden jerk, Guy straightened up on the library couch. It was hard to believe that was only three years ago, in their freshman year. Guy could remember it like it was yesterday - and it still caused him pain. From that day on, the only name Guy used for Aldys was "Alpo". He was so wounded by her words that the bitterness eventually took over.   
  
Knowing that she hated him, after a while it became easier to make fun of Aldys when he was with Tommy. And then it became a little easier to make fun of Aldys to her face even when Tommy wasn't around. Guy told himself that Aldys was no longer the Aldys he knew as a kid. By calling her Alpo he could almost convince himself of this.   
  
But now, in his senior year, Guy was tired of all that childishness. With two months of school left he just wanted to leave all the crap behind and start anew at college. No more pranks, no more name-calling, no more stupid attempts to stay popular.   
  
Glancing at his watch, Guy realized he had not only stayed in the library past the end of lunch, but he had also missed a class, which meant he had only one more period to go, his final study hall. With a sigh he got up and left the library.   
  
* * *   
  
"Dude!" Tommy cried as Guy walked into the classroom. "You're about to miss it! Where've you been?"   
  
"Ah, I had things to do. What's going on?" Guy asked as he joined Tommy and the gang by the windows. The teacher had pretty much left the class alone; after all, it was a study period, so there were only a few stragglers left in the room. Guy's friends were leaning out the open windows that faced the front of the school. Looking out, he saw many of South Glen South's students milling about, cutting out early.   
  
"We moved the new girl's car, man," Jason said, grinning from ear to ear. "She'll never find it. We put it in the football field!"   
  
Guy groaned as he leaned out the window. Just then he saw Josie come to a halt in front of the space where her car had apparently been parked. She had been on her cell phone and clicked it off and spun around in panic, looking for her car. Out of nowhere Aldys appeared at her side, and Guy saw her shake Josie's hand. After talking for a few moments, both Josie and Aldys looked up at the windows where Guy and the rest stood. He saw Josie's face fall in disappointment and he also saw Aldys' face tighten up before turning away with Josie.   
  
As the two girls walked away, Guy moved away from the window and slumped into the nearest desk. Tommy guffawed loudly and clapped his hands together a couple times like a kid. "Dude, that rocks."   
  
Guy rubbed his hand over his eyes and said in a bored voice, "Do you ever stop, Tommy?"   
  
"No way, man! The fun is just beginning with this one...especially if she starts hanging out with Alpo!"   
  
Guy stood up as the final bell of the day finally rang. Without saying goodbye to his friends, Guy left the classroom and headed down the stairs and out the doors, heading home.   
  
He jammed his hands in his pockets and walked with his head down in order not to speak to anyone as he made his way home. Reaching his house he sat on the front step of his house and held his head in his hands. All he could see was the sadness on Josie's face as she looked up at him.   
  
It was a mirror to the sadness that Aldys' had shown as she tearfully gazed at him three years ago that day he kissed her.   
  
* * *   



	3. Chance of a Lifetime - Part 3

Guy woke up with a start and slammed his hand on his beeping alarm clock to turn it off. Blinking tiredly, Guy's first thought was, 'Only forty more days of school left. Thank God.'   
  
The past two weeks had dragged by longer than he could have imagined. He surreptitiously watched as Josie and Aldys became friends, which in a small way was a relief. Josie had joined the Denominators and it was obvious that she was happy with her new friends.   
  
He hadn't spoken to Josie since that first day in the cafeteria, although he sometimes caught her staring at him in the hallways in between classes. But most times just as he was about to smile at her, she would look away or bury her head in her locker. He thought about going up to talk to her but he was usually surrounded by his sycophantic friends and didn't have an opportunity to approach her.   
  
As for Aldys, she continued to completely ignore that he even existed, despite his numerous attempts to find her in the library or at Na-Na's.   
  
Getting out of bed, he resolved to be in a good mood for the entire day - even if it killed him.   
  
* * *   
  
Mid-day. Only four more hours left of school. Thank God. Guy was milling the hallways with the gang when Sydney, the class president, began her post-lunchtime announcements. After saying something about an asbestos problem somewhere in school, she said, "We've picked the theme for this year's prom!"   
  
The entire hallway came to a standstill. Guy noticed that Aldys and Josie were standing near the corner of the hallway, also listening to Sydney's announcement.   
  
"This year's theme is...The Millenium!"   
  
The entire hallway erupted into happy cheers, and Kirsten and Tommy hugged as though Sydney had just announced something legitimately important.   
  
Guy snorted to himself. Prom. What a joke. He probably wouldn't even go to Prom.   
  
Gibby was smiling up at him, saying something about beating out East Glen East for best prom.   
  
Just for kicks, Guy pushed himself off from his perch on the wall and said, "Rufus. The Prom is gonna be rufus."   
  
They all turned to him, eagerly asking what 'rufus' meant.   
  
Trying to hide a mocking smile, Guy replied magnanimously with a wave of his arm, "It's my new, cool, hip phrase - spread it around."   
  
As the gang followed him down the hallway they gleefully crowed, "Rufus!" and began discussing prom plans.   
  
* * *   
  
"So you going to The Court tonight, bro?" Tommy asked Guy as they left school at the end of the day. They walked in the general direction of the parking lot, where Tommy's car was parked.   
  
"No, I'm probably just going to stay home tonight."   
  
"You know, Guy, something's going on with you lately, and frankly, I don't like it. What's your problem?"   
  
Guy stopped walking and turned to Tommy. "What do you mean?"   
  
Tommy dug his keys out of his pocket and twirled the keyring on his finger as he squinted at Guy searchingly. "I can't say what it is...but you seem really out of it. And what's even worse - I've seen you staring at Alpo and that new girl Josie. What gives?"   
  
Guy let out a grunt, trying to mask the sudden discomfort he felt at how close Tommy hit the nail on the head. "I don't know what you're talking about Tommy. Life is good. I mean, we have our prom theme and we're shoe-ins for Prom Court. Who could want anything more?"   
  
Tommy nodded and then grinned at Guy. "Just checking, man. I'm not the only one that's noticed. Gibby asked me about it the other day."   
  
"Tell Gibby to mind her own business and that I'm fine. Everything's fine. Look, I'll go ahead and come to The Court tonight, okay?"   
  
"Great - I'll pick you up at eight."   
  
"No thanks, I'll get myself there."   
  
* * *   
  
"Grab a beer, Guy," Gibby called as Guy walked up to the gang near the bonfire they had built in an old trashcan.   
  
"Not tonight, Gibby, thanks." Guy put his hands out over the fire to warm them up a bit. It may have been late April, but the Chicago nights were still chilly.   
  
Gibby perused Guy for a few moments over the fire. Guy met her stare with his own expressionless gaze.   
  
"Guy, can I talk to you for a minute?" she finally asked, motioning to the abandoned car several yards away from the group.   
  
"Why certainly, Gibby," Guy drawled.   
  
Once away from the group, Gibby grabbed Guy's arm and squeezed it. Hard. "Tell me what's going on, Guy."   
  
Guy sighed impatiently before saying, "Gibby, didn't Tommy tell you to mind your own business?"   
  
Gibby laughed scornfully and replied, "Since when has that stopped me?"   
  
Guy said nothing.   
  
"Look, Guy. I've seen you. I've been watching you for a couple weeks now. I've seen you staring at Alpo and Josie. God, you've been so obvious about it that it's really kind of sad. They're nerds, Guy."   
  
"They aren't nerds, Gibby. They're just people like us."   
  
Gibby's eyes turned to saucers as she pointed at her chest and hissed, "Those girls are nothing like me, and I resent that. Are you saying that you want to be friends with them or something? You know, it's supposed to be the other way around - they want to be us. Are you saying that you want to give up everything you have and become a Denominator? You'd be a loser, Guy. You know that, don't you?"   
  
Guy sighed, wishing he could tell this snobby girl what he really thought about her and her friends. Because he didn't consider them to be his friends anymore. He hadn't thought of them like that for a long time. But the cowardly desire to avoid conflict took over.   
  
"No, Gibby, I don't want to be a Denominator. I don't even like those girls," he lied. "I mean, c'mon - it's me. Why on earth would I want to hang out with Alpo?"   
  
Mentally, Guy kicked himself for taking the easy way out and speaking badly about the very person he wanted to make amends with. But he also knew how miserable his life would be in the final weeks of school if he rejected this particular group of people.   
  
Gibby's mouth opened but no sound came out. Then pursing her painted lips, she just continued to stare at him, not quite believing what she was hearing.   
  
Just then Guy heard a car pulling up near the entrance to The Court, and he immediately recognized Josie in the passenger seat of Aldys' station wagon, looking into the abandoned parking lot where he and the gang were hanging out.   
  
Gibby chuckled evilly under her breath as she saw the car, and then said to him, "Prove it, big guy."   
  
Guy turned to her, a question in his eyes.   
  
"You say you don't like them? Prove it. Go and tell Alpo to get out of here."   
  
It was exactly the opposite of what he wanted to do. Guy could feel his body shut down at the thought of Tommy's response if he instead got into Aldys' station wagon and asked her to drive away. He glanced at the car, then back at Tommy where he stood by the blazing trashcan. Guy's feet didn't move.   
  
Gibby snorted in an undignified manner and then snarled, "All right, fine - I'll do it, you coward."   
  
Gibby moved from beside him and started walking over to the car, but Guy suddenly lurched into motion and stepped ahead of her, attempting to reach the car before she did. Tommy, Kirsten and the rest of the kids at The Court were now watching Guy as he leaned into the passenger side window.   
  
Regretting the words the instant they left his mouth, Guy said loudly, "Well, if it isn't Alpo. Last time I checked, the dog park was that way."   
  
Aldys glared at him and said, "Last time I checked, it was still a free country."   
  
"You aren't seriously trying to hang out at The Court, are you, Alpo?" he asked.   
  
He could feel Josie stiffen up in the seat next to him, a look of mild fear on her face. But Aldys was anything but timid.   
  
"Oooh, cheap wine coolers and a fire in a trashcan. Where do I sign up?" Aldys said scathingly.   
  
Guy leaned further into the car, inching closer to Aldys. "Look, why don't you just go home, fickle around on your calculator or whatever it is that you do, and figure out how many lifetimes it will take you to get cool?"   
  
With those words, Aldys sucked in a deep breath. But instead of responding, she turned from him, the hurt obvious in her eyes as she put her car back into gear. Without another word she slammed her foot on the gas pedal, jerking the car forward just as Guy was moving out of the way. Guy stood in the middle of the street watching the tailights disappear around the corner.   
  
He briefly looked down at the pavement, hearing Tommy's hooting at the incident that just took place. "Yeah, Guy! Way to show them!"   
  
Guy turned his head and looked over at Gibby, whose eyes were sparkling with glee. Her arms were crossed and she had a look of triumph on her face. "That's more like it," Guy heard her say as she moved back closer to the bonfire.   
  
Guy stomped over to the bonfire and snatched up a cold beer from the cooler at Tommy's feet. Popping the top he guzzled down the whole beer before throwing the empty bottle into the trashcan. As the glass splintered among the flames he felt his own heart shatter into hundreds of pieces.   
  
Instead of making things better with Aldys, he had just made it even more difficult. And he had never felt worse.   



	4. Chance of a Lifetime - Part 4

"Thank you again, Guy, for helping me with this work. If Frank were still alive I wouldn't have needed to call you over here."  
  
Guy wiped the sweat from his brow as he pushed the lawnmower into Mrs. Johnson's garage. "No worries, Mrs. J," Guy replied with a sigh. "I needed to do some manual labor, anyway. I've got a lot of things on my mind and this helps clear my head for a while."  
  
Mrs. Johnson motioned for Guy to follow her into the house, where she had a tall glass of cold iced water waiting for him in the bright and airy kitchen, along with his favorite chocolate chip cookies. Sitting at the kitchen table near a bay window overlooking the backyard, he took a huge sip and grabbed up one of the cookies.  
  
Mrs. Johnson busied herself at the sink washing some vegetables from her garden. "What's going on, young man, that you consider mowing the lawn a pleasure?"  
  
Guy sat for a moment, trying to think where to begin. He glanced out the window and saw the sun setting over Mrs. J's backyard. Thirty-seven more days to go before school was out.  
  
"Can I ask you something, Mrs. J?"  
  
"Sure you can. Anything."  
  
Guy watched Mrs. J carefully and asked, "Have you ever done something so terrible that you didn't think you'd ever be able to make the proper apology to the person you wronged?"  
  
Mrs. Johnson paused, turning to Guy with a look of concern in her eyes. "Oh, Guy. What did you do?"  
  
"The question should be what didn't I do." He put down the uneaten cookie. "I've really messed up."  
  
"You know, Frank used to say that nothing was so far gone that an apology wouldn't fix it. I'd like to think he was right."  
  
"I really hurt this person. It was a long time ago." Guy stopped for a moment, then said softly, "And just a few days ago, too." He pushed back from the table and groaned, "Actually, I've pretty much been messing up for the past eight years, I guess."  
  
He closed his eyes briefly, and all he could see was Aldys. Beautiful Aldys, glaring at him in the darkness of her car as he verbally abused her once again. He felt despondent as he realized how messed up things were. It wasn't supposed to be like this. Not for the Big Man on Campus. It was supposed to be easy, idyllic. Instead he felt like garbage.  
  
He needed to apologize to Aldys. Before anything else happened to mess up his chance at reconciliation.  
  
Guy opened his eyes and found Mrs. Johnson looking at him sadly.   
  
"Nothing is so far gone, Guy," she repeated softly. "You need to apologize to her for what you've done. Before it's too late."  
  
He hadn't told her any specifics, and yet he realized that Mrs. J probably knew exactly whom he was talking about. After all, Mrs. Johnson had known Aldys almost as long as she had known Guy.  
  
Guy stood up and moved over to Mrs. Johnson to give her a quick hug where she sat. Kissing her affectionately on the forehead, he gave her one more quick squeeze and murmured, "Thanks, Mrs. J."  
  
* * *  
  
The next day at school Guy found flyers posted all over the place for an Ozomatli performance at Delloser Hall that night. He grabbed a flyer from a junior who was passing them out as he walked down the stairs with Tommy and Jason.  
  
"Oh yes," he said to them. "I'm so there. This band is so good. Have you heard this band play?"   
  
Tommy, whose ancient car was in the shop yet again, tapped Guy on the chest and said, "I'll steal my mom's car and I'll drive."  
  
As they came around the corner near their lockers, Guy saw Josie staring at them, plastered against the wall as though she didn't want to be seen. Over the past few weeks Guy had been gratified to see that she had toned down her makeup to a more natural look, and she looked amazing this morning in her tight shirt and hot pink cardigan sweater over capri pants. She looked very cute.  
  
Jason interrupted Guy's thoughts by crowing, "Yo, this show is gonna be rufalicious!"  
  
"Jason, it's not a stick of gum," Guy responded in an exasperated tone. "It's rufus." They passed Josie and Guy looked at her briefly. He half wanted to stop and speak to her, say hello or something. "Rufus," he repeated idiotically, tearing his gaze away from Josie's dark blue eyes.  
  
As he got his books out of his locker for his next class, he nodded goodbye to Tommy and Jason as they left to go to their class. The past few days had been miserable for him, but after his talk with Mrs. Johnson the evening before he felt a lot better about things.   
  
He had resolved to go out of his way to leave Aldys alone and not antagonize her and to apologize to her as soon as he was ready to face her and hear the undoubtedly horrible things she had to say to him. He had also resolved to try and not give in to the cowardice he had been feeling around his schoolmates with regard to their status in school. He still didn't feel comfortable just yet with the notion of calling them out on their snobbery and cruelty, but knowing that he was determined not to give in to it now made him feel better.   
  
* * *  
  
"Dude, what do you mean you can't go?"  
  
"Just what I said, Tommy. My neighbor called and asked me to come over and help her with something. I said yes before I remembered that we were going to Delloser tonight. If I finish up early I'll come out to the show and hang out."  
  
* * *  
  
"That was all you needed, Mrs. Johnson?" Guy asked in disbelief. "You just needed me to check the lock on your back door?"  
  
Mrs. Johnson answered innocently, "That's it. Sorry if I made it sound like something more than that."  
  
Guy laughed and replied, "Mrs. Johnson, what did you really call me over here for?"  
  
"What, did you have to cancel any plans for tonight?"  
  
Guy shook his head mildly, saying, "Nah, I was going to go see a band play at Delloser Hall, but that band will come back in the future. I'll just see them next time."  
  
Mrs. Johnson frowned worriedly. "Guy, I'm so sorry. I'm so selfish - I should have thought to tell you not to cancel plans on account of me. You've only got a few weeks left of school with your friends."  
  
Guy snorted and said, "Don't worry - it's not a hardship to get out of spending time with them sometimes."  
  
Mrs. Johnson sat quietly for a moment before speaking again. She surprised Guy by saying, "Guess who came over to see me today?"  
  
"I've no idea."  
  
"Aldys Harrison. She hasn't been over here in ages. She told me she's hoping to go to Northwestern in the fall. She's so smart - I'm so proud of her!"  
  
Guy hoped that Mrs. J didn't notice his body's stiffen in response to hearing Aldys' name. He could feel his heart jump in his chest when Mrs. J said Aldys was possibly going to Northwestern - his top choice of school as well.  
  
"She had plans tonight, too. She was going to meet up with her friend Josie at Na-Na's. They are probably there right now."  
  
Guy stole a glance at Mrs. Johnson and saw that she was sneaking her own glance at him. Guy pursed his lips at the realization of what Mrs. Johnson was saying. Then he laughed out loud and hugged the old woman to him.  
  
"All right. Looks like I suddenly have someplace to be. Will you be okay without me?"  
  
"Well, Guy," Mrs. J responded teasingly, "the living room needs repainting, but it can wait, I suppose."  
  
"Yeah, whatever, Mrs. J."  
  
Upon leaving the house, Guy got into his car and turned the key in the ignition. Na-Na's. His redemption was apparently sitting in a booth at Na-Na's right now. While Tommy and the gang were nowhere around to bother him.  
  
Guy smiled grimly as he gave himself a pep talk. "It's now or never, Guy," he said to himself, gripping the steering wheel. And with that he backed out of his parent's driveway and began driving to Na-Na's.  
  
* * *  
  
As he pulled into the parking lot of Na-Na's, Guy could see Aldys sitting alone at a booth near the front window. He quickly got out of his car and went to the front door, still unsure of what he was going to say to her.  
  
Walking into Na-Na's he was greeted with loud music and conversations floating all around the large café. Without thinking twice he strolled over to Aldys' booth and sat down opposite from her. She had an open book in front of her - Shakespeare's 'As You Like It'.  
  
Startled by his sudden appearance, Aldys slammed the book shut and muttered, "Uh, someone's sitting there."  
  
"Then I'll leave when they come back."  
  
"Actually, Josie's not here yet - but she'll be here soon."  
  
"Fine. I'll leave when she gets here. But I need to talk to you. Now."  
  
"What do you want, Guy?" Aldys asked stiffly, looking out the front window of the café.  
  
"Look, Aldys. I know you hate me - that's been painfully obvious since the seventh grade. I also know that it doesn't matter what I say because you won't listen to me and give me an honest chance. I understand that." He took a deep breath. "But despite that, I have some things that have needed to be said for a long time, and I'm going to say them whether you like it or not."  
  
Aldys looked at him in silence, her eyes bravely meeting his earnest gaze.  
  
Seeing that she was listening, Guy took a another deep breath before continuing. "Whatever you think about me, Aldys, just know this. I don't hate you. I never have. I admire you, I am in awe of you, and more than anything, I've discovered recently that I really miss you.  
  
"You were my best friend for such a long time, and I wasted that. I let Tommy and the others affect my way of thinking, and I'm ashamed of that. I'd give anything to take back the past few years and be friends with you again. I think about you all the time, and how it could have been different. How it should have been different."  
  
He paused for a moment as the waitress set down a cup of coffee in front of Aldys. He watched as Aldys' shaking hand pick up the cream and pour some into the steaming mug, stirring it in with her spoon.  
  
Once the waitress walked away, Guy continued.  
  
"Aldys, tell me what I can do to make it up to you. I don't want to finish high school knowing that there was something that I could have done to repair the damage that has been done."  
  
Aldys took a sip of the coffee and settled the cup back in its saucer. Folding her hands on the table, she said, "I'll tell you what you can do to make it up to me."  
  
"What?" he asked hopefully. "Anything."  
  
"Do this in public," she replied.   
  
"What?" Guy asked, confused. "We are in public."  
  
Aldys smiled sadly as she looked into her coffee cup. "It's so easy for you to apologize to me here, when your friends aren't around. How about apologizing when your precious Tommy can actually hear you speaking politely to me? How about telling those girls that I'm a human being and that they can't make fun of me anymore. How about standing up to them once and for all and telling them you don't want to be a part of their group, or do you actually enjoy being around those shallow people?"  
  
Guy stared at Aldys, dumbfounded. He hadn't expected this. He had hoped that he could apologize and that would be the end of it. But apparently Aldys intended to up the stakes.  
  
"Aldys, can't you just accept my apology?"  
  
"No, Guy, I'm afraid I can't. Not tonight. Not when it's done as a secret that no one else can find out about." Aldys glanced at her watch and began gathering her stuff.  
  
"Where are you going?" Guy asked.  
  
"It looks like Josie ditched me, so I'm going home."  
  
"Let me take you."  
  
Aldys glared at him as she took out her wallet and put some money on the table. "Don't be stupid, Guy. You aren't going to give me a lift home tonight."  
  
"I wouldn't have offered if I wasn't willing."  
  
"Well, thanks, but I've got my own car, so I don't need you to drive me home. And you already told me where the dog park is, remember?" With that she stood up with her backpack and walked out of Na-Na's.  
  
Guy quickly got up and followed her into the parking lot.  
  
As Aldys approached her station wagon, a defeated Guy let out a loud groan and shouted into the dark starry night, "What did I do to deserve this?"  
  
Aldys, feeling a bit sorry for Guy despite herself, called out, "Guy, don't be so hard on yourself. You know, school will be over in five weeks and all will be forgotten. I'll go on to Northwestern, you'll go to where ever you are going to school, and no one will any the wiser as to what we were like in high school."  
  
Guy, sensing her reprieve, made his way over to where Aldys stood in front of her open car door. He leaned against the side of the car and said, "I've been thinking that very same thing for the past few weeks. You know, every day I wake up and tell myself how many days are left until this whole thing is done with."  
  
Aldys laughed and said, "That's too bad. High school is actually kind of fun sometimes, you know?"  
  
"You like high school?" Guy asked, surprised.  
  
"Well yeah, I have great friends, I have fun in class, I'm inspired to do things with my life, and more importantly - I know that things will only get better from here on out." Aldys tilted her head up to the dark sky and closed her eyes. "It's going to be amazing!" she said dreamily.  
  
Guy smiled back as Aldys opened her eyes and smiled back wryly at him. "Well, Guy, that's enough mindbending from you for tonight. I'm going home." She got into the front seat of the station wagon and closed the door. Rolling down the window, she turned to Guy and said, "And let me know when you are ready to apologize to me for real. I'm anxious to see that trainwreck."  
  
Guy laughed humorlessly, stepping away from the car as Aldys started the engine. He was about to walk away to his car when Aldys' hand reached out and grabbed his. Guy turned back and met Aldys' serious gaze.  
  
"Guy, I don't want to seem ungrateful here. Thank you for your apology tonight. It means a lot. And it's a step in the right direction. But I hope you see my point about making a real apology at the right time. Tonight was an easy out for you because your friends went to Delloser Hall. Apologizing for years of torture shouldn't be this easy. I hope you understand that."  
  
Guy nodded mutely as Aldys brought her hand back into her car and put it into gear.  
  
"I understand that, Aldys, but I'm just not prepared to do that just now."  
  
Aldys studied him for one more moment, a flash of disappointment moving quickly across her face. "Then I guess we're done here."  
  
With that, Aldys drove out of the parking lot, leaving Guy alone with his thoughts.  
  



	5. Chance of a Lifetime - Part 5

"Tommy's right," Kirsten said. "Ozomatli totally rocked!"   
  
"Seriously, Guy, you should have been there. The show was totally rufus."   
  
Guy turned his face to his locker and rolled his eyes. He was sorry he ever announced that 'rufus' (a word he made up just to get a reaction) was the new phrase that pays. Now EVERYONE was saying it - and it really was a stupid word.   
  
"I'm sorry I missed it - it sounds like it was a lot of fun. But Mrs. Johnson kept me tied up so I couldn't get over there in time for the show."   
  
In actuality, while everyone else was at Delloser Hall, Guy had gone to Na-Na's to apologize to Aldys for years of misery. And got almost nothing for the effort. He had gone home and laid awake nearly all night, replaying their conversation in the parking lot.   
  
He still couldn't believe that Aldys was having fun in high school, despite the fact that she was considered the biggest nerd in South Glen South and therefore constantly teased. But then again, his life was supposed to be perfect since he was the most popular guy in school, and he was actually quite miserable most of the time.   
  
He thought about Mrs. Johnson and her meddling. Then he laughed to himself at how obvious she had been. He was still smiling when he heard a joyous voice behind him call out.   
  
"Hi Guy. Guys. Guy's guys."   
  
It was Josie, smiling confidently at them. He grabbed onto his locker door and kind of leaned over, smiling back at her. He was about to say hi back when he saw she had an ink stamp of some sort on her forehead, so instead of just greeting her normally he ended up saying, "Hi...Loser," as he read the smudged stamp out loud.   
  
He instantly regretted it when he heard Kirsten and Gibby cry out, "Loser!" and laugh hysterically. He hadn't intended to read what was on her forehead - and certainly hadn't intended to make his greeting sound like the insult it had instantly become.   
  
He watched as Josie made her way down the hallway, catcalls following in her wake. Obviously she had no idea that stamp was on her forehead. Surely she would have washed that off this morning when she was getting ready for school?   
  
Guy slammed his locker shut and started to walk away when he heard Gibby guffaw loudly, "And she's even wearing the same tacky dress she embarrassed herself in last night."   
  
The first thing Tommy had told him that morning was how Josie had gotten up on stage and danced along with the band. Tommy was laughing about it, but Guy could tell he also had some grudging respect for her because Josie actually got up on stage with the band.   
  
But that respect was gone now, because of an ink stamp and Guy's inadvertent insensitivity.   
  
* * * "Hey there, I'm Rob."   
  
Guy shook the proffered hand and grinned back at the friendly face in front of him.   
  
"Guy Perkins. Nice to meet you. You're new here?" Guy moved his backpack off the library chair next to him and set it on the floor. He gestured for Rob to sit down.   
  
"Yeah, my family tried to hold off our move until the summer when I went to college but decided that my final two months of school could be spent here anyway."   
  
Guy nodded mutely and went back to looking at his magazine. He was on a study period before lunch but didn't feel like bringing out his books.   
  
"What are you reading?" Rob asked.   
  
Guy laughed and closed the magazine. "I'm actually not reading, just kind of sitting here staring at pictures." He held up the front cover to Rob. Sports Illustrated. He put the magazine back down nearer to Rob on the table.   
  
Rob pulled it to him and flipped through a few pages. "I'm hoping to play baseball here. I've spoken to the coach already about getting special permission to play in some of the remaining games if he likes the way I play."   
  
"Coach Romano is pretty cool, so you should have no problem doing that, if you're any good." Guy paused. "What classes do you have?"   
  
Rob looked at his class slip and said, "Well, lunch is next - which is always a good thing. Then I've got Math, then English, and finally a study period."   
  
"Then shouldn't you be in class now?" Guy inquired, deciding that he liked this new student. He seemed nice enough, and it would be interesting to have someone new to talk to, since he was obviously not going to be able to talk to Josie any time soon.   
  
Rob grinned, causing his eyes to almost disappear behind the laugh lines crowded there. "Well, you know - first day and all. I can't very well go to every class on the first day."   
  
The bell rung and students began filtering out of the library to go the cafeteria.   
  
Guy stood up and grabbed his backpack. "C'mon," he said to Rob, "I'll introduce you to my friends and you can eat with us."   
  
Rob hopped up enthusiastically and said, "That would be great! I'm in the mood for cole slaw!"   
  
* * *   
  
"I'm the cole slaw king of the world!" Rob yelled at the top of his lungs before spitting cole slaw all over the students crowded around him. Next to him, Brett put down his tub of cole slaw in disgust, having lost the competition.   
  
Guy laughed and clapped his hands. This new guy was a nut! He saw that Gibby, Kirsten and Kristen were looking at Rob as though they wanted to eat him alive. He had heard them whisper to each other about how cute Rob was the minute he introduced them all to each other. Just as they were about to go over to Rob and help clean him up, someone else beat them there.   
  
"Hi, I'm Tracie. I'm 16, I'm a gymnast and I don't have a boyfriend."   
  
Rob smiled at the vivacious girl sitting next to him, wiping his face clean. "Cool," he said. The Trio from Hell were taken aback and rather than admit to defeat went back to talking amongst themselves.   
  
Guy just sat there quietly, smiling to himself.   
  
* * *   
  
Guy saw Rob at the front entrance to the Senior Class Fair and called out, "Yo, Rob! Wait up!"   
  
Rob waved at him and greeted him boisterously with a slap on the back. "This is great! I didn't think they still had these fairs for Senior Prom! I always loved these! This has been the best first day of school I've ever had!"   
  
Guy laughed as they walked in together and immediately bought a bunch of tickets for the various rides.   
  
"Where's your crew?" Rob asked as he pocketed a fistful of extra tickets he had bought.   
  
"They should already be here wreaking havoc. I ran late and told them to come without me."   
  
"Well, you and I can find our own trouble, can't we?"   
  
Rob and Guy proceeded to hit some of the games set up around the Navy Pier fairground. It was expensive, but it was all for a good cause: the best Senior Prom that South Glen South would ever have. Guy still didn't intend on going, but he knew that he should still try and help everyone else have a good time by giving them money to help pay for everything.   
  
"So you had a good time on your first day of school?" Guy asked as he drew back to throw a pie into Brett's face. The pie missed, causing Brett to hoot loudly at Guy.   
  
Rob put a dollar on the counter and picked up a pie. "Oh yeah - your friends are pretty great." He heaved back and threw the pie: a direct hit. Brett's face was completely covered in whipped cream.   
  
The crowd around them laughed at Brett as Guy and Rob continued on to another booth. "You like my friends?" Guy asked incredulously. Was he the only person that saw through them? Guy checked himself quickly. Actually, no, Aldys saw right through them as well.   
  
Rob smiled over at Tracie, who was standing nearby with a few of her gymnast friends. Turning back to Guy, he said, "Well, they are definitely particular about who they like and don't like, but it's just high school, man. Once high school is over what are they gonna be? I'll tell you what they are going to be: FRESHMAN. Dude, once they get to college they are gonna have to start all over again at the bottom of the totem pole. So you just have to laugh it off now."   
  
Guy smiled broadly. Finally a person that understood!   
  
"Now," Rob continued, "I believe that everyone has something worthy in them. Even your friends have something good about them. It's just hard to see sometimes. There are people in this school that are amazing, and it's just not as noticeable because they aren't in your group."   
  
"You're right about that," Guy acknowledged, thinking instantly of Aldys.   
  
"Actually, there's a girl here at South Glen South that I used to date, and I can't believe she's not a part of your group."   
  
"Who's that?"   
  
"Her name is Josie Geller. Cute blond, really smart, goofy sense of humor."   
  
"Yeah, I know who she is. She is cute, I agree with you there. I don't know much more about her though because we don't have any classes together."   
  
"You should get to know her - she's a pretty great girl."   
  
"I've said hello to her a couple times." Guy cringed inwardly, knowing that it was a slight lie, since in the first of those two instances he had all but called her stupid, only to accidentally call her a loser the second time.   
  
"Well, as I said, you should get to know her."   
  
The rest of the evening passed quite quickly. Rob and Guy hung out for a couple hours, continuing to donate their dollars to the games. At one point Tracie came running over to Rob, begging him to take her on the Ferris wheel. Rob looked at Guy and shrugged as she dragged him off, but Guy could tell he didn't consider it a hardship.   
  
Guy continued walking around, watching his fellow students have a great time. He felt so relaxed and content that he began talking with other classmates he hadn't spoken to in years -- people that Tommy had usually ridiculed and made fun of (which Guy realized was most everyone outside of their small group).   
  
At first people seem shocked when Guy said hello, but when he continued talking with them after his initial greeting, they warmed up and he ended up having some great conversations throughout the night. While talking with a girl in his Physics class he saw Aldys and the rest of the Denominators walk by, and Guy debating breaking off the conversation to approach her.   
  
But he decided against it and continued talking with Marcie about their teacher's latest Physics lesson plan gone awry in a haze of smoke - literally. At the end of the conversation they agreed to get together to study for the next exam, something Guy had never done before due to his misguided fear of appearing too smart.   
  
By the time the fair ended Guy knew that South Glen South would have an amazing Prom, but more importantly, he knew that he had become a changed man. Thanks to Rob, he realized he could be himself and be happy.   
  
* * *   
  
"Josie Geller?" Tommy squeaked in disbelief. "No way, man."   
  
"She used to date the drummer from the Big Bad Voodoo Daddies?" Jason asked.   
  
Guy shook his head, saying "Ain't that something - I've always wanted to be a drummer. Always."   
  
Rob nodded, grinning from ear to ear. "Yeah, but she dumped him."   
  
Guy was fascinated by the stories that Rob was telling about Josie. At the fairgrounds the week before Rob had talked about what a great girl she was, but Guy was amazed by how many great things Josie had done in her 17 years. He decided he wanted to try and get to know her better. He had messed up by insulting her twice and thought it would be good to try talking to her again -- especially since Rob thought so highly of her.   
  
* * *   
  
This sex ed class is hilarious, Guy thought as he stared at Pam Kitterman, the woman teaching the class. She was shooting straight from the hip and was making what could have been an awkward class pretty fun instead.   
  
Guy and Jason were sharing a table with the Trio sitting in front of them. Josie was seated near the front with Tracie, the girl that Rob had been spending a lot of time with. Aldys and the other Denominators were in the very back of the class, doing their own thing. Guy had noticed that recently Aldys and Josie hadn't spent much time together and wondered if they had had a parting of ways.   
  
He watched as Josie and Tracie had a conversation, wishing he could hear what they were saying. He stifled a grin when Mr. Coulson snuck up on their conversation, causing Josie to accidentally shoot her condom at him from the banana on which it was supposed to go.   
  
Suddenly the loudspeaker crackled to life.   
  
"Hey kids, Sidney here. Bad news about the prom - East Glen East is gonna do the Millennium, too!"   
  
The class erupted into groans and shouts of frustration.   
  
Mr. Coulson brought the class back to order and said, "All you need is a new idea."   
  
Pam Kitterman suggested 'Under The Sea', which made everyone groan again. Mr. Coulson said, "How about the Eighties?", which caused Gibby to say, "What do you think we are, amateurs?"   
  
Guy finally stood up and got everyone's attention when he said, "All right. Josie."   
  
Josie's head whipped around in surprise as Sera giggled and said, "That's not a theme!"   
  
Guy frowned at Sera and replied, "Uh, thank you. No, Josie will have the answer."   
  
The whole class turned to Josie and waited. Josie looked gratefully at Guy for a moment and then suddenly looked fearful. She stood there for a few quiet moments, mentally searching for the perfect theme for Prom. She looked down at Tracie and then suddenly said, "How about 'Meant for Each Other' -- famous couples throughout history?"   
  
The students looked at each other, checking for approval. Finally Guy said, "Absolutely. Absolutely!" causing the whole class to burst into applause along with him. He heard Gibby say, "That is so brilliant!"   
  
Josie's face broke into a beautiful smile as she looked at Guy thankfully. He just continued smiling at her and applauding her choice for theme. Eventually she turned to look at Mr. Coulson, who was smiling back at Josie as well.   
  
* * *   
  
Over the next few weeks Josie began spending even more time with Guy and his group. She was brilliantly funny and goofy, and became quite endearing. She went shopping with Gibby, Kirsten and Kristen, who had all but forgotten the fact that they had made fun of her when she first arrived at South Glen South.   
  
Guy also managed to talk to her quite a bit on their own. They would hang out in the library and talk about politics, religion, and what was going in their lives. She didn't talk much about her family or her life outside of school, but Guy enjoyed talking with her nonetheless.   
  
She still seemed kind of shy and blushed a lot around him. He also noticed that she spent a lot of time with Mr. Coulson, her English teacher. Josie had joined the Prom Committee so she did a lot of after school work with Mr. Coulson as far as picking music and making the decorations for the country club. But Guy always made sure he was there to take her out for a bite to eat afterwards.   
  
Rob, meanwhile, had made it onto the baseball team with one single tryout -- and was turning into the best player the school had. One day the group decided to go watch Rob practice at the field. Guy took along his guitar and hung out with the guys while Josie and the girls sunned themselves at the top of the bleachers.   
  
At one point they began hooting and hollering for Rob and started doing a victory dance. Guy strummed on his guitar and watched Josie talking with the girls. Josie totally fascinated him. She seemed older than the Trio, but also seemed more naïve in many ways. He really liked that about her. The other girls seemed so hard and callous, whereas Josie was so soft and feminine.   
  
He decided that he was going to ask her to prom. For a long time he hadn't wanted to go, but then he started hanging out with Josie and found that he really desired her company more than he expected. There was no one else he wanted to ask. He knew he'd have an amazing time with Josie.   
  
"Kegger at my house tonight!" Rob shouted to them as he came running off the field.   
  
Perfect, thought Guy. Tonight at Rob's house I'll ask Josie to Prom.   



	6. Chance of a Lifetime - Part 6

Guy walked into Rob's house and couldn't believe the mess. He saw Brett stacking empty cans at the bottom of the stairs and a suspicious-looking sled at the top of the stairwell. He shook his head as he scooted by before disaster struck.   
  
The house was pretty crowded with kids, and Guy found Gibby, Kirsten and Kristen huddled together in the living room, already planning their costumes for Prom.   
  
"But I wanted go as Barbie," Kristen whined, flipping her long blond mane behind her shoulder. "I've got the hair for it."   
  
"But I already got the costume," Kirsten snapped, taking a sip from her cup.   
  
Guy waved as he went past them, having no desire to get involved in that conversation. He was on a mission to find Josie.   
  
He saw Rob and Tracie in the kitchen laughing together, Rob with a cowboy hat on his head. He spoke to them a few moments, asking Rob if he had seen Josie.   
  
"Nah, she's not here yet. I know she's on her way here, though."   
  
Guy left the kitchen and went past Brett up the stairs and started peeking in rooms up there. He saw some couples hooking up in a couple of them, but found one room empty and quiet. He didn't turn on the lights to inspect the room at all, he just noted that it was indeed empty. As he closed the door, he saw there was a label on the door that said, "Josie", which made him smile. Maybe fate had stepped in and allowed this room to be marked off for him? He knew Rob had a sister - wouldn't it be amazing if she was named Josie as well, considering he and Josie had dated at one time?   
  
He went back downstairs and as he headed into the kitchen he found Rob and Josie huddled together near one wall. She looked like she was lecturing him so he sidled up next to her and stood really close to her, causing her to turn and look to see who it was crowding her.   
  
"Hi," he said softly, smiling down at her.   
  
Josie giggled demurely and said hi back.   
  
"Uh, I gotta talk to you." He looped his arm through hers and started to pull her away from Rob. "Please come here."   
  
He heard Rob say, "See ya around the cellblock, Mrs. Robinson," as they left the kitchen and headed up the stairs.   
  
Once they reached the top he made small talk for a moment as he led her to the room he had found a moment ago.   
  
Josie suddenly lurched away from him and blocked the door.   
  
"You know, maybe we should go into another room?" she asked.   
  
"I've checked each and every one of these rooms. There are 'serious' couples in there. This is fine." He brushed past her and opened the door, pulling her in with him.   
  
When the lights came on in the room, Guy couldn't help but laugh. There were prize ribbons all over the place and stuffed animals covering nearly the entire bed. Obviously Rob's sister was completely different from her brother. "Wow," he said before he could stop himself. "Rob's sister....is a loser!" He wanted to go on and admit to her that he actually had the same number of ribbons tucked away in a box in his closet but didn't want to waste time talking about stuff like that.   
  
"Um, please come here, I need to talk to you about something." He grabbed her hands and led her to the small twin bed. The bed was soft and he bounced up and down a few times as Josie sat down next to him.   
  
When they were comfortable, he tilted his head and kind of watched her for a moment. He studied her lovely features as she looked back shyly at him. Then he said slowly, "Uh, I know that you probably already heard that I want to ask you to Prom, but there's something different about asking in person. I know that we didn't hit it off in the beginning, and I would be really --"   
  
"Yes." Josie blurted out, cutting him off. Then she smiled brightly. "Yes." In the quiet moment that followed she leaned in a bit, and Guy leaned forward as well.   
  
He wanted to kiss her, but something told him not to. Not yet. Instead he whispered, "That's rufus."   
  
He pulled back and asked, "So uh, where do I pick you up - how do we arrange this?"   
  
Josie thought for a moment and then replied, "We can meet here at Rob's and then all go in a limo together."   
  
Guy nodded and stood up, looking back down at Josie. He was thrilled that he had asked her, and knew he'd have a great time with her. "Thank you," he said, smiling.   
  
Josie grinned back at him, watching as he began walking out of the room. "Have a good evening," she said. "And thank you."   
  
Guy closed the door behind him, leaving Josie in the room alone. He smiled again to himself.   
  
Prom was gonna be...well, he hated to say it...rufus!   
  
* * *   
  
"Mrs. J!" Guy called as he walked into her office.   
  
Mrs. Johnson came out from behind her closet door and beamed at Guy. "Guy, I haven't talked to you in what seems like forever! You look wonderful!"   
  
Guy smiled contentedly as he sat in the chair next to her desk. "Yeah, I'm doing pretty great. Much better than a couple weeks ago."   
  
"I can tell - you are actually smiling with your eyes, which I didn't think I'd see again."   
  
"Life is going well now. I met a great girl that I'm taking to Prom. I made a new friend with a guy who moved to the area a couple months ago. And I was nominated for Prom Court, which is not too shabby!"   
  
Mrs. Johnson laughed gaily as she came and sat down at her desk. She opened a drawer and pulled out a late pass for Guy. "That's wonderful, Guy." She paused a moment before asking, "And what about the situation from a couple weeks ago? Is that all cleared up now too?"   
  
Guy shook his head, his smile faltering a bit. "Well, I apologized like you advised me too, but she didn't fully accept it. She put a condition on it that I wasn't prepared to accept. So I haven't spoken to her since then."   
  
Tactfully changing the subject, Mrs. Johnson asked Guy what his costume would be at the Prom.   
  
"Well, Josie has a thing for Shakespeare's 'As You Like It', which she's studying in Mr. Coulson's class. So we're going as Orlando and Rosalind. She found us the best costumes - I even get to carry a sword!"   
  
"Oh, you'll look magnificent as Orlando!" Mrs. J. crowed. "Just magnificent!"   
  
Guy laughed and replied, "I just hope I don't poke myself with the sword at any point during the night!"   
  
* * *   
  
Guy sat in the back of the limo, a small smile playing across his face. He was happier than he had been in a long time. Graduation was around the corner, he was going to Prom with Josie Geller, and he hadn't offended Aldys in any way in weeks. Things were looking up.   
  
He checked his costume to make sure things were in place - there seemed to be a lot of fabric with this costume. 'Those poor men,' was his thought as he got dressed earlier in the evening. To think that they had to dress like this every day in centuries past - that's torture! But he knew that he and Josie would make a spectacular couple as they walked into the country club this evening for Prom.   
  
The limo turned the corner onto Rob's street and Guy grabbed up the white flower he had laid carefully on the seat beside him. Opening the sunroof he stood on the seat and brought the upper half of his body outside the limo roof as the car slowed in front of Rob's house. He could see Josie standing on the front porch, looking amazing in her rose-colored gown. Her hair was up, her makeup impeccable, and her eyes shining brightly as she smiled nervously at the car.   
  
He brought the flower up in his hand, half hiding it. When he saw Josie's face tighten up a bit he quickly smiled and brought up the bud, spreading his arms in appreciation as he said, "C'mon, beautiful! It's time to go!"   
  
Josie beamed at him and ran down the stairs to meet him.   
  



	7. Chance of a Lifetime - Part 7

The limo pulled up to the country club and after getting out first, Guy turned and offered his hand to Josie to help her get out. Quickly following her were Rob and Tracie, who were dressed up as the lead characters from Tom Cruise's movie, "Risky Business". Guy thought their costumes were hilarious, and was relieved when Rob agreed to let Josie hold his wallet in her small purse instead of tucking it in the waist of his underwear.   
  
As they approached the entrance, Guy saw the Trio in their outrageous Barbie costumes, arguing about the fact that they had all come as basically the same thing - only not. Suddenly they turned and began gushing to Josie about her costume.   
  
"Let me guess, Medieval Barbie?" Gibby asked.   
  
"Get over it," Kirsten muttered, rolling her eyes.   
  
"We're Rosalind and Orlando," Josie explained matter-of-factly.   
  
The Trio stared back blankly.   
  
"From Shakespeare?"   
  
Guy, seeing that they Trio would never know whom Josie was talking about despite being in the same English class, went for something they'd understand. "Look, I get to carry a sword," he said, touching the handle at his side.   
  
The girls lurched into coos and twitters at the idea and they all turned to go into the country club as Josie looked at Guy, shaking her head and smiling.   
  
* * *   
  
Once inside they made a quick loop around the room to see who was there and laughed at various costumes of couples that were 'Meant For Each Other.' Guy enjoyed seeing Josie's responses to some of the ideas - such as the group of baseball players who came as the Village People, and the two drama students who came as Mary and Joseph from the Bible.   
  
The first hour of the Prom came and went quietly. Guy and Josie danced several times, thoroughly enjoying each other's company. At one point they heard some shouting and saw the Denominators arrived - looped together as DNA. Guy thought it was a great costume and liked the simple creativity of it as well.   
  
Guy and Josie stepped off the dance floor at some point so Josie could go to the restroom, and Guy joined Tommy and Jason at their table. As he sat down he heard Tommy chortle, "Man, she's not gonna know what hit her when we do it!"   
  
"Do what," Guy asked, picking a grape from Tommy's plate and tossing it in his mouth.   
  
Tommy looked at Jason for a brief moment before saying, "Nothing, man. We were just thinking of, uh, sending Ms. Knox some flowers and saying they are from a secret admirer. Yeah."   
  
Guy frowned. "That wouldn't be a very nice thing to do if she found out it was a joke."   
  
Tommy raised his eyebrows at Guy and responded, "Well who are you all of a sudden - Prince Charming? What, you put on some tights and all of a sudden you're Galahad?"   
  
Guy laughed mockingly. "Do you even know who Galahad is, Tommy?"   
  
"Well no, but I know it's supposed to be a good guy or something. But forget about it - we were just thinking about doing it, that's all."   
  
Just then Josie came over to the table and dragged Guy on the dance floor again. He looked back at Tommy and had the sneaking suspicion that they hadn't been talking about Ms. Knox at all, but someone else entirely.   
  
* * *   
  
At the top of the third hour of the Prom, Guy saw Ms. Knox and Mr. Coulson take the stage and check the microphone volume. The music dwindled down as the students gathered around the front stage where the teachers stood.   
  
Ah, Prom Court, Guy thought to himself as he and Josie stood near the middle of the room. He had almost no doubt that he would be crowned King of the Prom. Even though he felt he didn't deserve it, he knew he was considered Big Man on Campus - even over the quarterback of the football team. But who would be Queen? He hoped none of the Trio would be named Queen - that was something he wouldn't enjoy.   
  
He looked over briefly at Josie as she watched Mr. Coulson at the podium. He secretly hoped she'd win, although since she was a new student he didn't know if she was really well known enough to be Queen, despite being rather well liked among their fellow seniors.   
  
He was gratified when Kirsten, Gibby and Kristen were announced as the Princesses instead of the Queen. Then he listened calmly as Tommy, Jason and Rob were named as the Princes of the South Glen South Prom.   
  
Ms. Knox cleared her throat into the mike before saying, "Next, South Glen's Prom King...Guy Perkins!"   
  
Guy turned to Josie with a chagrined smile and moved to the stage as students around him applauded and slapped his back in support. Ms. Knox handed Guy the plastic scepter and put the metal crown on his head as Tommy and the other guys congratulated him on his easy victory. The bright stage lights were in his eyes as he turned to the seniors who became silent as field mice as they waited to hear who his Queen would be.   
  
Mr. Coulson looked down at his card as he leaned into the mike before saying, "And this year's Prom Queen, ladies and gentleman..." Mr. Coulson paused for one brief moment before happily announcing, "Josie Geller!"   
  
The students burst into loud applause, joined quickly by Mr. Coulson. Guy saw Josie's stunned look as she moved stiffly toward the stage. She gawked at Mr. Coulson as he put the rhinestone-studded crown on her head and presented her with a dozen long-stemmed roses. Teacher and student intensely gazed into each other's eyes before Josie finally turned to face the students that voted her their Queen.   
  
Guy studied Mr. Coulson for a moment as Josie continued to bask in her sweet embarrassed way in the applause of the seniors. Mr. Coulson was also clapping - a little too enthusiastically for a teacher. And what was with that cozy moment as he was crowning her - they looked as though they had completely forgotten everyone else in the room!   
  
Mr. Coulson finally moved back to the microphone and said, "And now as is the custom, the King and Queen shall now have their first dance."   
  
At these words, Guy led Josie down on to the dance floor. He tossed the scepter Ms. Knox had given him back to the guys as a slow song began playing, filling the room with it's romantic melody. He and Josie stood for a few minutes just looking at each other, and then seemingly in tune they both began dancing at the same time, swaying to the lazy beat of the music.   
  
They didn't speak at first, simply enjoying the dance. Finally, Guy asked, "Tell me what you're thinking?" He figured that her mind was probably a whirlwind of activity at the idea of being named Prom Queen.   
  
Josie smiled up at him and replied, "I was thinking about Shakespeare. How he describes a night like this: 'Look how the floor of heaven is thick inlaid with patinas of bright gold!'" Josie stopped and looked up at him, then asked, "What are you thinking about?"   
  
In a split moment a thousand thoughts flooded through his head. He thought that Josie was the most amazing girl he had ever met. And she was obviously not interested in him in any way. He knew that she had a crush on Mr. Coulson, however inappropriate that might be. And he didn't blame her in the slightest. She was too bright and wonderful to limit herself to dating someone her own age. She needed to be challenged and stimulated by someone far more mature and adult than he.   
  
In that same moment he also thought of Aldys, wondered where in the room she was. He suddenly wished he were dancing with her instead of Josie. He adored Josie, but he wanted to be with Aldys. And he didn't care about Tommy, or Gibby, or anyone else. He only cared about Aldys.   
  
And still in the same moment he knew that he and Josie needed to stop dancing and find the people they really wanted to be with.   
  
But Guy couldn't tell Josie all these things. Not like that. So instead, after his split-second realizations all hit him at once, he finally grimaced slightly and said the first thing that popped in his mind.   
  
"My sword."   
  
Josie looked confused for a moment then attempted a laugh for his sake to be polite.   
  
Recovering quickly, Guy looked intently at Josie before saying, "You rock my world, Josie. You're like the most amazing girl that I've ever dated. You're so fun to be with, you're smart - crazy." Guy let out a small laugh. "You rock my world."   
  
Josie smiled at Guy and said, "You said that already."   
  
Guy smiled back and said, "Yeah," before pulling Josie closer and letting her rest her head on his shoulder. They continued dancing for a heartbeat more before Guy finally pulled back to speak again.   
  
"Josie, having said that, there's something else I need to say. Even though I think you are great, I know that there's nothing here - you don't feel it, and I don't feel it. It's almost like we're just meant to be really great friends, and I'm glad that's the case."   
  
Just then, behind Josie's head, Guy saw Aldys sitting with her fellow Denominators, picking at some fruit on a plate in front of her and laughing at something one of her friends said. Guy felt the urgency in his need to get to her.   
  
Josie was grinning up at him, nodding her head. "I agree with you, Guy. I truly do. You've really done a lot for me, Guy, whether you know it or not. I'll never forget that. Thank you." With that, she moved out of his arms and seeing where his eyes were concentrated, whispered, "I'm sure she'll dance with you if you ask her."   
  
Guy's eyes widened in shock at Josie as she gracefully backed away from him and moved off the dance floor. She turned one last time and smiled easily at him, her eyes twinkling brightly even in the darkened room. Guy grinned back at her. He was grateful he could call her his friend.   
  
He turned back again to look at Aldys. His beautiful Aldys. And took one step forward.   



	8. Chance of a Lifetime - Part 8

Realizing he was standing alone on the dance floor, Guy quickly walked over to where Aldys sat. Stooping down until he was eye level with her, he said, "Hello. Aldys, I figured since it's prom let's put all the crap behind us, and I would love nothing more than to dance with you."  
  
Aldys looked at him, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Surely there was a prank in here somewhere. But she looked into his eyes and saw only sincerity, honesty and complete confidence that he wanted to dance with her at Prom. "All right," she said hesitantly back to Guy as she took off the protective goggles that went with her DNA costume.  
  
"That is," he continued, "if it's okay with the rest of the Double Helix. Yes?" He looked over at Aldys' friend, David.  
  
Aldys turned to David, who nodded at her in support.  
  
Standing up, she shrugged out of the white coveralls she was wearing, revealing a skintight blue bodysuit that hugged every curve of her willowy body.  
  
Guy smiled at Aldys as he swung her onto the dance floor, not caring about the strange looks he was getting from other students. All that mattered was that Aldys had said yes. She was in his arms, and they were dancing. Together.  
  
An old song came on by The Smiths, and Guy smiled into Aldys' face, which was hovering so near his. She was smiling back at him when he finally murmured, "How's this for public?"  
  
Aldys laughed. "This is actually more than I expected, Guy. I didn't think you had it in you to go this far."  
  
"Well, I meant what I said. I want to put all that stuff behind us. You deserve better. I just hope that NOW you'll accept my apology."  
  
"I do accept it, Guy. In all actuality, I accepted it in the parking lot at Na-Na's. I just wanted you to squirm a bit. Call it childish revenge, I guess."  
  
They danced a bit more, enjoying the easy silence. For Guy the room had disappeared, much like he had seen it disappear for Josie and Mr. Coulson on stage when she was crowned Prom Queen. Guy only had eyes for Aldys. He liked the fact that Aldys was a couple inches taller than he was. It made them seem like equals, and yet Guy still felt protective of her somehow.  
  
He had so much to say but didn't know how to express it. He was glad that Aldys had forgiven him, and was excited to think that they were going to get their friendship back on track. And who knows - possibly that renewed friendship would lead to something more? When they were fourteen he had kissed her in Mrs. J's driveway, and although he had dated other girls since then, he had always remembered that kiss. His first kiss.  
  
"Remember when I kissed you in Mrs. J's driveway back in the ninth grade?" he asked, unable to tear his eyes from her mouth.  
  
Aldys nodded mutely, not daring to say anything.  
  
"Have you kissed anyone since then?" he asked softly, pulling her into his arms a bit more closely.  
  
Aldys shook her head, still not speaking, but staring at him in silence.   
  
Still spinning to the music, Guy smiled warmly at Aldys as he inched his mouth closer to hers.  
  
Suddenly he heard a horrified shout from a few feet away and turned his head to see Josie, who had been dancing with Mr. Coulson, run toward them, rushing at someone behind Aldys. Guy stepped back, pulling Aldys away from Josie, and watched - almost in slow motion - as Josie knocked away a can in Tommy's hand - a can of Alpo dog food. The can flipped into the air, causing the dog food to come flying out of the can. But instead of falling onto its intended victim, it continued it's trajectory and promptly flew onto the heads of Kirsten, Gibby and Kirsten.  
  
Together they screamed in horror as they began hastily wiping the dog food from their faces.  
  
Gibby narrowed her eyes at Josie before spitting out, "I KNEW it - you ARE a loser."  
  
Kristen wailed, "You ruined everything!"  
  
Kirsten, barely containing her rage, screamed, "You SO do not deserve to be prom queen!"  
  
Guy stood openmouthed as Josie reached up and grabbed her crown, ripping it from her head. "Let me tell you something," she said, tossing the cheap metal tiara on the floor at their feet. "I don't care about being your stupid prom queen. I'm twenty-five years old! And I'm an undercover reporter for the Chicago Sun Times and I've been beating my brains out trying to impress you people."  
  
She's twenty-five? Guy stared at Josie a moment. Twenty-five?  
  
Mentally shaking his head in disbelief, Guy started to move closer to Aldys, but she backed away from him, her eyes flashing accusingly at him. 'Of course,' he thought, 'she thinks I was in on Tommy's prank.' Obviously this is what Tommy had been plotting earlier in the evening - not the flowers he said he was sending anonymously to Ms. Knox. Guy wanted to say something to Aldys, but Josie continued her confession after a momentary pause to calm down.  
  
Josie didn't notice that Mr. Coulson, who had been standing protectively next to her, had turned and left the room when she began her confession. "Let me tell you something, Kirsten, Kristen, Gibby -- you will spend your lives trying to figure out ways to keep others down because it makes you feel more important. Why her?" Josie gestured to where Aldys stood. "Let me tell you something about this girl. She is unbelievable. I was new here and she befriended me, no questions asked. But you people were only my friends after my brother, Rob, posed as a student and told you to like me."  
  
Several students turned to look at Rob, who grinned sheepishly from behind his dark Rayban sunglasses.   
  
Josie spun around to encapsulate all the seniors in the final few comments. "And to all of you, there's a big world out there. Bigger than prom. Bigger than high school. When you get there, it won't matter if you were prom queen or the quarterback of the football team or, " Josie now gestured tenderly toward Aldys, "the biggest nerd in school. Find out who you are and try not to be afraid of it." Josie finally shook her head and warbled a sad, "Excuse me."   
  
With that, Josie grabbed her long full skirt and twirled around and scuttled quickly through the door that Mr. Coulson had walked through moments into her speech.   
  
Aldys began clapping as Josie walked out, and quickly others joined in. Guy watched as Tommy also started clapping along, not wanting to be seen as the bad guy. The deejay started the music back up and asked someone to take the "Alpo Girls" out to get cleaned up. Jason rounded up the Trio and ushered them out the front door of the country club.  
  
Guy was torn as to whether he should confront Tommy about the prank he was going to pull on Aldys, or go to Aldys and swear he had nothing to do with it. Aldys had run over to the Denominators who were all consoling her. Tommy was standing nearby looking smug and unashamed at his part in the events that had just taken place.   
  
Knowing she was in capable hands with her friends at the moment, Guy walked over to Tommy and got in his face.  



	9. Chance of a Lifetime - Part 9

Guy unhooked the sword from his belt and dropped it on the table before striding over to Tommy, who stood near Aldys' table.  
  
"What the hell was that, Tommy?" Guy asked bluntly, poking a finger into Tommy's chest.  
  
Tommy laughed, putting his hands up defensively. He looked around the room to make sure that no one was watching. Most of the students had returned to dancing, or were at their tables buzzing about the scene that had just taken place with Josie. The only people watching Guy and Tommy at the moment were the Denominators, who could hear every word. Tommy looked back at Guy with narrowed eyes.  
  
"Ah ha. I see what this is all about. You know, Gibby told me that you had the hots for Alpo, but I didn't believe her. Looks like she was right. I thought you were only dancing with her because someone had asked you to help out with our prank after all."  
  
Guy took another menacing step toward Tommy and sneered, "No, I didn't have any part of your prank and I'm sorry I had a part in ANY of your pranks in the past. You obviously didn't listen to anything Josie just said, did you?"  
  
"Josie? Are you kidding? That speech was ridiculous!" Tommy pointed to Aldys, who was looking on, and said loudly, "That girl will ALWAYS be a loser! Josie will always be a loser. And more importantly, YOU will always be a loser. I can't believe we ever let you in our group!"  
  
Tommy started to turn away, but Guy reached out with one hand and grabbed Tommy's arm. His other hand balled into a fist and slammed into Tommy's chin, knocking Tommy back into the Denominators' table. With the music so loud and the people chattering throughout the whole room, only a handful of people took notice of the punch.  
  
Tommy attempted to stand up but Guy came over and pushed Tommy back down onto the top of the table. As Tommy struggled to get out from under Guy's clutches, people around them stopped dancing and talking to watch Guy and Tommy.  
  
"Let go of me," Tommy muttered.  
  
"Not until you apologize." Guy said.  
  
"Apologize for what?" Tommy snorted indignantly.  
  
"For being a jerk to Aldys."  
  
"No way, man. You're crazy! I'm not apologizing to Alpo!"  
  
Guy grabbed Tommy by the wide lapels of his John Travolta disco suit and picked him up so that he could stand. Then immediately pushed him down so that Tommy was kneeling in front of Aldys.  
  
"Apologize." Guy said again, his hand gripping Tommy's shoulder tightly.  
  
Aldys sat there stiffly, shaking her head. "He doesn't have to apologize, Guy. That's okay. Really."   
  
Continuing to hold Tommy so that he stayed on his knees, Guy looked earnestly at Aldys and said, "But you wanted a public apology, right? This is your first one."  
  
Guy leaned over so that his mouth was right near Tommy's ear. "Tommy, I think you should apologize," he whispered. "Because if you don't, then I'll tell everyone attending this Prom - including Ms. Knox - about a certain trick you used to pass your final exams last year."  
  
Tommy looked up at him quickly, trying to see if Guy was telling the truth. "You wouldn't do that man, I wouldn't get to graduate."  
  
"Try me."  
  
Tommy stopped for a moment, looking at the floor. After a moment's debate, he looked up at Aldys and quietly said, "I'm sorry for trying to throw dog food on you."  
  
Guy squeezed hard on Tommy's shoulder. "Louder."  
  
Tommy raised his voice, all but calling out, "I'm sorry for what we did to you, Aldys," as the crowd around them tittered behind the hands over their mouths.  
  
Guy looked at Aldys, who was gaping at Tommy. It was the first time Tommy had said her actual name since the fourth grade.  
  
Her chin defiantly raised, Aldys said, "I accept your apology, Tommy. Thank you."  
  
With that, Guy let go of Tommy, who stood up meekly and glared at Guy. "Happy now?" he asked.  
  
"Almost," Guy responded, patting Tommy on the back. "There's one more apology left to give, but you don't have to worry about this one. I'll do it."  
  
Guy proceeded to kneel down in front of Aldys as the seniors continued watching over them, and took one of Aldys' hands in both of his.  
  
"Aldys," he began, gazing purposefully into her eyes, which were brimming with tears. "I would like to apologize for the horrible way I've treated you in the past few years. Specifically, for the past four years. We were friends for a long time and then I turned my back on you. Instead of just growing apart as some friends do, I said and did things do you that I wouldn't do to my worst enemy. For this I am so sorry. You deserve nothing but respect and admiration, but because of my actions you were teased and made fun of during our high school years. What Josie said was right - you are amazing. You befriend those who have no friends, and you treat everyone - even me - with the same honesty and maturity that most of us should aspire to."  
  
He paused as he felt a lump in his throat. The Denominators were staring at him as though he had suddenly sprouted antennas. From the corner of his eye he could see that The Trio and Jason had joined Tommy and were also watching his very public apology to Aldys. Encouraged by the small smile he could see hovering on Aldys' trembling lips, he continued on.  
  
Standing up, but continuing to hold Aldys' hand, Guy turned to The Trio and said, "This girl is a human being who deserves to be treated as such. She's not a nerd, she's not a loser, and more importantly, she has a beautiful name by which she should be called. For years I've let you run roughshod over her, but I'm telling you now to leave her alone." Guy looked specifically at Gibby and said, "She's twice the person you'll ever be."   
  
The girls just stood there, having been cleaned up by Jason. Instead of standing there defensively, they were standing like zombies as though they couldn't believe the events of the evening. Kristen looked as though she was about to burst into tears, and Kirsten simply looked shell-shocked. Gibby, instead of looking furious at having been singled out by Guy, merely ducked her head and meekly looked at the ground.  
  
Turning back to Aldys, he pulled her out of her chair and announced with a short laugh, "As a freshman, I kissed this girl and made her cry." He looped his arms around her waist and said softly, "Now that I've made her cry as a senior as well, I'm hoping she'll let me kiss her again, too."  
  
Several girls nearby sighed at this, and Guy smiled at Aldys. The smile she gave back to him meant all the world to Guy. Without another word, Guy gently pressed his mouth against Aldys' waiting lips.  
  
When they finally broke apart amidst the cheers and applause of the senior class, Aldys whispered, "That's the best damn apology I've ever heard in my life. Thank you, Guy."  
  
"Thank you, Aldys," Guy whispered back before kissing her again.  



End file.
